Question: Michael buys a basket of coconuts on sale for $\$12$ before tax. The sales tax is $6\%$. What is the total price Michael pays for the basket of coconuts? (Round to the nearest hundredth or cent.)
Solution: In order to find the total price, first find the amount of sales tax paid by multiplying the sales tax by the original price of the basket of coconuts. ${6\%} \times {$12} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $6\%$ is equivalent to $\frac{6}{100}$ which is also equal to $6 \div 100$ $6 \div 100 = 0.06$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. ${0.06} \times {$12} = {$0.72}$ Add the sales tax you just found to the original price to find the final price Michael paid. ${$0.72} + {$12.00} = $12.72$ Michael needs to pay $$12.72.$